A sexting scandal makes France fret it is turning Puritan
A Paris mayoral candidate drops out. A Russian artist is to blame
IN MATTERS OF sex and politics, French insouciance rules that the public interest stops at the bedroom door. Presidents have often kept mistresses. Public opinion shrugs off such dalliances. While in office, François Hollande was photographed astride a scooter visiting his lover. In 1899 Félix Faure died in his mistress’s arms at the Elysée Palace.
This article appeared in the Europe section of the print edition under the headline “Liaisons dangereuses”
Europe February 22nd 2020
- Emmanuel Macron’s reforms are working, but not for him
- A sexting scandal makes France fret it is turning Puritan
- How Sweden copes with Chinese bullying
- The $50bn Yukos judgment against Russia turns on a single word
- An Orthodox Christian schism in Ukraine echoes around the world
- Turkey acquits the Gezi Park protesters, then rearrests one
- Poland is cocking up migration in a very European way
From the February 22nd 2020 edition
Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents
Explore the editionMore from Europe
François Hollande hopes to make the French left electable again
The former president moves away from the radicals
Germans are growing cold on the debt brake
Expect changes after the election
The Pope and Italy’s prime minister tussle over Donald Trump
Giorgia Meloni was the only European leader at the inauguration
Europe faces a new age of gunboat digital diplomacy
Can the EU regulate Donald Trump’s big tech bros?
Ukrainian scientists are studying downed Russian missiles
And learning a lot about sanctions-busting
How Poland emerged as a leading defence power
Will others follow?